ELEPHANTS. 281 



invulnerable. The Ceylon elephant, rarely possessing tusks, 

 cannot destroy a tree thicker than the thigh of a man." 



Again referring to Dr. Livingstone's remarks on this subject, 

 he writes : " In estimating the amount of food necessary for large 

 animals, sufficient attention has not been paid to the kinds chosen. 

 The elephant, for instance, is a most dainty feeder, and particu- 

 larly fond of certain sweet-tasted trees and fruits, such as the 

 mohonous, the mimosa, and other trees, which contain much 

 saccharine matter, mucilage, or gum. He may be seen putting 

 his head to a lofty palmyra, swaying it to and fro to shake off 

 the seeds ; he then picks them up singly, and eats them. Or he 

 may be seen standing by the masuka and other fruit-trees, 

 patiently picking off the sweet fruits one by one. The selection 

 of these kinds of food account for the fact that herds of elephants 

 produce but small effect upon the vegetation of a country, quality 

 being more requisite to them than quantity." 



The Asiatic elephant, besides having the distinguishing points 

 previously described, possesses as a rule much smaller tusks ; the 

 female animal being always born with tusJies only, or short down- 

 ward prongs in the upper jaw ; these whilst present are used for 

 stripping bark off trees, &c., but they are seldom retained long, 

 being generally broken off early in life, and are never renewed ; 

 in fact they do not appear to be at all necessary. A curious fact, 

 referred to already, is that neither sex of Ceylon elephants possess 

 tusks, or at least not one in a hundred — and the very few excep- 

 tions to this rule that have been seen are exclusively males — and 

 even these conspicuous individuals generally have only stunted 

 tusks or tushes, about ten or twelve inches in length and one or 

 two in diameter ; while in India muclcnas — as the male elephants 

 born without tusks are called — are decidedly rare. 



Mr. Sanderson, who, in consequence of his being the great 

 authority of the present day on the Indian elephant, it is necessary 

 to frequently quote, says that the tusks are not used to assist 

 the animal in procuring food. Small trees are overturned by 

 pushing with the curled trunk, or feet, if necessary ; and to get 

 at the core of a palm-tree or to beat out the plantain, the pressure 

 of the feet alone is used. 



